And יהוה says, “Because this people has drawn near with its mouth, and with its lips they have esteemed Me, and it has kept its heart far from Me, and their fear of Me has become a command of men that is taught!
“Hear this, O house of Ya‛aqoḇ, who are called by the name of Yisra’ĕl, and have come from the waters of Yehuḏah, who swear by the Name of יהוה, and profess the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl – though not in truth or in righteousness –
“Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the right-ruling of their Elohim. They ask of Me rulings of righteousness, they delight in drawing near to Elohim.
transgressing, and being untrue to יהוה, and turning away from our Elohim, speaking oppression and apostasy, conceiving and pondering words of falsehood from the heart.
“And they come to you as people do, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love – their hearts pursue their greedy gain.
the saying of him who hears the words of Ěl, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes opened wide:
knowing this: that Torah is not laid down for a righteous being, but for the lawless and unruly, for the wicked and for sinners, for the wrong-doers and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, led astray, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in evil and envy, being hated and hating one another.
For certain men have slipped in, whose judgment was written about long ago, wicked ones perverting the favour of our Elohim for indecency, and denying the only Master יהוה and our Master יהושע Messiah.
And there shall by no means enter into it whatever is unclean, neither anyone doing abomination and falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
“But as for the cowardly, and untrustworthy, and abominable, and murderers, and those who whore, and drug sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the false, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”
Then Shemu’ĕl said, “Does יהוה delight in ascending offerings and slaughterings, as in obeying the voice of יהוה? Look, to obey is better than a slaughtering, to heed is better than the fat of rams.
And Sha’ul said to Shemu’ĕl, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the mouth of יהוה and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.